Please Smile
by LittleSon
Summary: Because a human's weakness is their strong emotions and there is no such thing as a "perfect wife".


Notes:

Because a human's weakness is their strong emotions and there is no such thing as a "perfect wife".

Hello, it's been years after I lowered myself in the NuraMago fandom and I came back because I saw a prompt I wrote back then.

I love Rihan and Wakana pairing so much even if Wakana didn't get much attention in the story.

Fair warning, Wakana isn't your bubbly lady in this story, advance sorry. I want to make her human.

* * *

The esteemed Nura clan, no one really knows how they started and left a mark of their name as the centuries passed by.

A large hectare of the grand estate, surrounded by tall and sturdy cemented walls kept prying eyes away from what it truly hides among men. Truth to be told, the clan's residence is overseen by the grandmaster, Nurarihyon, his son Rihan the current master leading a thousand of demons who resides with them and beside the master was a woman in her 20's, Nura Wakana.

A long time ago, the Nura clan were once clouded with grieving when the 2nd master, Nura Rihan lost his first wife, the beautiful and beloved Yamabuki Otome. The loud and lively household overturns with coldness and darkness at the time their 2nd commander forgot how to smile. Living for him felt like a continuous and never-ending straight line until it comes to a halt from a mere human lady.

To Rihan meeting her felt like his stagnant fleeting dream finally comes to a beautiful end; a start of his 2nd chapter. In the first place, saving her was just a mere duty as an overseer, keeping in touch was just to know if she's safe, friendly matters he thought and taking a mere human to their nightly patrols was just another form of hang-out. Eventually, he resigns from his in denial feelings when Wakana and her small fingertips pulled his strict skin asking him to smile, a genuine one she says.

__"C'mon happiness comes to those who smile!"__ was the mantra the girl taught the king of pandemonium and the spell separating his endless path with another lane giving him another option to change, and he took the other one.

__"I live longer than Rihan-san! So I can always look out for you!" __

The clock strikes 12 midnight and the grandfather clock rings a loud 'gong' lasting for a minute on cue a chatter of demons was heard in front of the household's wide gate. The hyakki yakou's patrol under the 2nd in command ended their rounds quite early, concluding a good evening.

"Nidaime..." Kejerou calls out, a demoness with a long hair running to her comrades with a worried look on her face. She stops at the front of Rihan who just climbed down from his ride.

The beautiful man graced his face with a confused frown, "What's wrong Kejorou?" he asked.

Kejorou puts a hand on her chest and clears her throat, "You see it's about Wakana-sama..."

"Did something happened to her?" Panic overcomes the great demon and quickly tries to run but was stopped when Kejorou pulling his arm. He turns his head back to the one who stopped him.

"Wait, Rihan-sama!" Kejorou shouts, "let me explain first!"

"Kejorou, you started your sentence wrong." Kubinashi, the floating head demon interjected with a calm voice. This is the Nura clan even if the 2nd in command is away the security is always tight and the 1st commander also resides in, who would dare to enter the household with evil intent?

"So what happened?" and places a hand on Rihan's shoulders to pacify him.

Kejorou gives a pout on Kubinashi and releasing Rihan's arm on the process.

"I think it was after you guys gone out to patrol, I heard noises in Wakana-sama's room..."

"Then something really happened! Wakana!" Rihan panics again and this time frees away from Kubinashi running towards his room where his wife also resides while Kejorou and Kubinashi shout his name following him.

Rihan slides their wooden door open, "Wakana!", and beholds a clutter of different fabrics on the ground, coloured magazines, bottles and cosmetic brands he just learned the name in this era, and Nura Wakana at the centre of the mess and her face covered in white and a little red tint painted on her lower lip.

"What... What are you doing?" he raises a brow and placing a hand on the door frame to support his weight. The two demons caught up and peek inside the room and were also astonished to see the unkempt room.

Nura Wakana, the 2nd wife of the esteemed 2nd lord of the pandemonium, in her stoned state suddenly feels a heat creeping up her body, no one was supposed to see her like this!

"Kyaa!" she cries, "Don't look!" and covers her face with the sleeves of her thin white kimono and turns her back from the unwanted audience.

The three snaps out and the two subordinates quickly retreat, leaving the husband on the door panel meters away from his hiding wife.

The cool summer breeze creeps inside the open room and Wakana shivers from it when Rihan saw his wife shuddering figure he gently shuts the screen door. His feet pacing forward, carefully trying not to step on the things laid down on the floor and bends his knees in front of the woman shielding herself.

Rihan stops for a while and examines the situation presented, in the end, he shrugs his shoulders and raises a hand grasping the arm of his wife to pull it down but she resisted. Troubled by her reaction, he sighs in defeat pulling himself back to sit crossing his legs and hands lay flat on his knees.

"You..." her unusual small voice breaks the silence, "You came back early..."

"Yeah, I did."

She shook her body in reply and silence filled the room.

"Wakana, what are you doing?" Rihan finally opened, his eyes piercing almost wanting to create a hole in the thin fabric covering his woman. He tried to look calm, he really does but his voice falters hearing the worry overbearing him and it pierced Wakana's heart.

This is not she intended to do in the first place. It gave her a shock to see him come home early and to be found out doing her crazy idea.

Wakana resigns and slowly reveals her face covered in white cream and small red tint on her plump lips but closing it tightly while looking away.

Wakana never looked away, making Rihan's heart tight so sudden.

"Trying to look beautiful..." She confesses and purses her lips back still avoiding the eyes of her other half.

"Why?" The current situation urges Rihan to put a hand on that small face to look at him but it felt not right to do so.

Wakana raises her arms again not to hide but to wipe off the white cream and red lipstick sticking on her face using the sleeves of her clothes. Eagerly smudging her face clean and revealing a fair skin under the dim lights of the room.

The silence was deafening and their uneven breathing was suffocating it felt too unusual; it's scary.

"May I touch you?" Rihan began with a pleading voice giving a pause to the lady's wavering heart. The chocolate-brown haired tilts her head slightly and behind the fringes saw herself being reflected on his golden eyes.

"Yes." she anxiously replies and scoots closer to the half-demon in his usual stripped green and black kimono and an orange inner kimono.

Fabrics ruffling on the mat echoed the place cutting the space in between them. A calloused hand takes the mortal's both hands and placing his lips on top giving a chaste kiss. Placed in between his legs, this mortal faced him and gives off a sigh feeling his soft lips grazing her skin.

"Why?" He repeats his former question almost croaking out his words.

An unbearable lump stayed in his throat but kept courage and his bright golden eyes finally caught that fleeting chestnut-brown orbs earlier, trying to search for answers but only gave him a cloudy reflection.

Wakana's lips quiver open and pause a moment.

"I got worried..." her shaking honey-voiced lingered.

"I got worried that..." and she releases a weak giggle wishing to change the course of emotion gradually overflowing.

It was not supposed to be like this more so, no one was supposed to know her absurd one-sided secret - akin to be different seeing through any possibilities to look special. Putting on colours on her face maybe this could look pretty and adopting bits of knowledge and trying out a different era of beauty. It's laughable because she kept on losing from her prior task: to become a good wife and stayed inside of her deep thoughts. Selfishly thinking it's for everyone's good, however, it hurts the most to keep from someone.

"That I might not be enough." she wants to pull away but Rihan clenched hers tightly thus the only choice was to cancel his gaze and look away again.

She releases a rigid sigh. "That I might not be enough to be your wife, I don't have much, to begin with."

Wakana's confession left Rihan in chaos, Wakana felt it and now sees it when she glances at those warm golden orbs she fell in love now clouded like hers, a hard pang in her heart. No, this wasn't supposed to happen...

"I don't have a family left right? and I was just a normal teen with a problematic financial status." Rambling with a small weak smile printed on her face.

"It dawned me when I lived in here that I have nothing to make all of you proud. The Nura clan lived a prosperous life and I suddenly felt imposing. Then I took the job to clean the household, take care of the little ones and to cook for everyone."

Rihan patiently waits, again he really tries to listen and take in everything even tho he kind of got what she meant; being married in a renowned family you'll meet a hurdle of pressure expecting you to perform tasks perfectly and in spite of his hard work trying not to let his wife overwhelm from it, the result was a large bomb of failure. A hard lump of breath rises in his throat but grinds his teeth behind closed lips.

Her chestnut orbs dart around the place but not to him, away from his painstaking gaze.

"That's for the human side and looking at the demon side I have no powers like mother Yohime, and when I saw Yamabuki Otome-san, I felt flat." closing her lips.

Wakana abruptly jumps realizing she said something wrong. Forcing herself to look at Rihan, eyes wide, she shouts. "But wait!"

"I adore Yamabuki-san! I fell in love with her as well!" She frets giving a reassurance there was never an ill feeling on the first wife. "Of course not in a romantic way! I have you as a husband! It's on the stage of adoration."

"I love listening to your stories about her and I think I even got to the point I wish I met her! She sounds so gorgeous, eloquent and truly a wonderful spirit..." and comes to a pause.

Wakana drops her head down resting on their joined hands. "That adoration slowly turn upside down, a hundred and eighty degrees to be exact." it left a bitter aftertaste making her puke.

"The adoration I felt changed, to a sickly emotion that I don't want to agree but one word comes in my mind: Jealousy."

"W-Wa.."

The lady of the Nura household uses the moment to release her hands from her husband's weak hold. Hastily she prompts a hand on Rihan's lips to silence him and moves to gaze on the pailing man with her blurry eyes she does not want to shed.

"Stop right there, sir. I'm not done yet." Biting her lips suppressing the emotions kept.

Rihan slumps with a trembling heart, hitching breath and mouth agape was this a karma for a demon to ask happiness once again?

Wakana suddenly moves to kneel, towering Rihan's limping body facing his lost and crestfallen emotions slowly painting his face breaking Wakana even more.

"Oh No, no my dear, please. I beg you." She shakes her head and grits her teeth, lifting her weak arms to cup his face. "Oh Rihan, it's not your fault. It's mine... It's mine." and leans in to rest her forehead to his.

"I'm a human, and unfortunately humans are weak."

Warm drops of tears fall from her closed lids, damping Rihan's face under her.

"I'm sorry that I'm a human, weak and fragile."

"Close to emotions and easily to be overcome. I'm so sorry..."

Her quiet wails were like painful statics moving around snipping everything and he felt bleeding. Rihan jolts from every pain he felt and his forlorn eyes twitch shedding tears with Wakana's continuous pleas for forgiveness. Pushing all his strength he lifted his heavy arms to embrace his limping wife.

To Wakana, he was a miracle from the curse the gods left her. Accepting his friendly intrusions was for the sake of respect. Listening to his stories was for the sake of new air in her lonely room. Being part of his life was something she never expected but felt joyful to be the one that loves him and to heal him in the process.

In conclusion, they are two souls both lost and alone and safe haven have they become for each other.

Rihan seated at the centre of the cluttered floor while he cradles Wakana's small and weak body closely as he can possibly be. Their reddened eyes gazing on their fingers playing between the small spaces of each other's hand. Interlocks and releasing and comes back leaving now warm touches on their skins.

The man with a jet-black hair hums a song under his breath, soft melody enveloping their still room accompanied by the loud strikes of wind on their paper screen wall and the drum beats of their hearts. Rihan extends his other hand to curl small strands of Wakana's hair around his index finger and tucks them behind her ear, he hears a soft sigh in response.

"What's the name of the song?" Wakana's voice was airy and raspy resounding their room.

"I don't know to be honest, but I faintly remember it from mother when she lulls me to sleep." He chuckles softly and interlocks their fingers this time not letting it go. "I eventually forgot to ask her the title."

She hums back in reply and stares at the metallic gold band around her ring finger and his long fingertips.

The man leans down to place a long soft kiss on top of the woman's hair in return she relaxes on the affection he showers her. Moving lower to her eyes sore from releasing unwanted sad tears, lower to her soft cheeks strained to keep on smiling for him and lower connecting their lips releasing all his love.

Affections can be expressed in different ways and kisses felt not enough. Rihan was the first one to pull away.

"Don't leave me." He began with a shaky and raspy voice.

"I won't." and Wakana dips her head at the crook of his neck snuggling on to it. "I promise I won't, I'm sorry for scaring you."

Rihan shakes his head. "There are so many things in my mind right now."

Wakana stares at him, it's her turn now to be patient and quiet letting him release all those emotions. His thumb caresses her soft cheeks.

"It's true, Yamabuki stayed inside here, in me and I can't take the love I felt for her away." and closes his eyes and his memory floods images of his first wife; memories of their beginning and their end.

In front of Wakana, Rihan gave off another sad smile. Surely he remembers his first wife and it aches her to see him in that broken state, she's here to help him.

Rihan unfolded his eyelids when he felt warm hands on his cheek, he faces the teary-eyed Wakana who's bitting her lips to restrain from tearing out.

"Shhh..." he coos and leans in her touch.

"However please believe me on this, Wakana you are more than enough."

She nods in reply.

"This." Rihan stammers, trying to think straight when he sees his newly found love trembling to stop her tears on flowing once again. His hand moves to her shoulders to rub it. "This new life isn't about me anymore.", shaking his head.

"It isn't about asking for forgiveness nor asking to be spoiled rather step on equal terms with you and learn deeper about love."

He takes a deep breath and smiles to his woman, "Wakana you taught me to share burdens and to give equal happiness and earlier you showed me how I'm still lacking." he chuckles softly again.

"But I want to thank you." surrendering from the overflow of his heart, he wants to send all his feelings to her, praying that it would reach the one he loves.

"Thank you that you cried out but kept your distance close to me. Thank you for facing me and holding on to me even if I made you uneasy."

Rihan embraces Wakana once again and whispers lovingly, "Thank you for not leaving me."

Wakana embraces him back with one hand reaching his back and patting it endearingly, soothing his emotions with her soft touches.

"This time it's my fault Wakana." pulling away, creating a small gap between them. Moving his eyes over her face savouring this moment and imprinting everything about Nura Wakana, "I'm sorry for failing to care for you."

Wakana widens her eyes and shakes her head disagreeing, his hand glides up to her hair ruffling it a little.

"Moreover, everyone has always been thankful to you because you pulled me out of my grief. To them and to me, you're my saviour. Please believe that Wakana."

Wakana roughly nods, "y- yeah...", sniffling from her nose.

"I'm glad," she repeats bringing tears in her eyes again. "I am so glad."

"I got so scared..." and hiccups in the middle. "I, I got so scared I might fail everyone."

"Rihan-san, I want to believe you" she snuck up Rihan's level, her crystalline eyes beams toward golden ones, "I'll believe you."

Rihan accepts her twinkling eyes, those orbs who threaded his life back and he is so thankful to see it again. "Thank you."

Although Rihan doesn't want to be separated from Wakana, he untangles their fingers and gingerly cups her cheeks again. His lips slid upwards rewarding the lady who smiled back to him.

"Wakana," he calls out her name, such a sweet taste that stayed on his lips.

"Yes?" she answers back.

"Please smile, happiness comes to those who smile."

As if a magic spell dispelling all odds and brought ticklish feelings inside of them. The husband and wife from different worlds whole-heartedly laugh together, steady side by side and ready to thread a path both had chosen to walk on.

"I promise to live longer with you," Rihan swore and promised Wakana and everything stops.

* * *

Because I want to believe Wakana is not perfect and had some insecurities. NuraMago portrayed Wakana as the sweetest and sunshine lady they could ever do but I think they forgot humans can also feel weakness like how they did with the yokai's also. :'D

This was published first on my AO3 by the way and just published here also hehe

To end this: Ohmygohd, I found out Wakana got pregnant with Rikuo when she's just 18, Rihan you almost got into jail. ohmygohd and I wrote this before finding this out :'D


End file.
